Good evening
The news which is dominating the Maltese news portals is primarily the story related to Somalia’s al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group shooting and killing a Maltese man on Monday, authorities said. The slain man was working for a Dubai government-owned port operator in the country’s semi-autonomous Puntland region.
Paul Anthony Formosa, was the construction project manager for DP World, was killed near Bossasso port. Islamist militant group al-Shabab has said it carried out the attack.
The stories on the local media are as follow:
Paul Anthony Formosa, a Maltese operations manager killed in Somalia, has been described by former colleagues as a lively man always looking for ways to improve and challenge himself. “Paul was a family man and a delight to speak to. Even if you disagreed with him, you’d enjoy the argument,” Stephen Calleja, who worked with Mr Formosa for 18 years at the Malta Freeport, told Times of Malta.
Formosa is a former Freeport employee and used to work on cranes. He left Malta to work in Latakia, in Syria, on the same line of work and was later employed by P&O Ports, a subsidiary of the giant terminal company DP World as a project manager in Somalia. TVM
Malta Freeport Terminals (where Formosa used to work) CEO Alex Montebello “Paul was a hardworking employee, lively, open-minded and loved by his colleagues. We are extremely shocked to learn of this attack and our thoughts are with his family during this most difficult time.” The Malta Independent
Other Reports (NET, ONE, Newsbook, MaltaToday)
In other news from Malta’s Portals:
EU Law lecturer at the University of Aberdeen Justin Borg-Barthet called for an EU-wide anti-SLAPP legislation to protect journalists from silencing methods. The Shift News reports the address at a conference on investigative journalism taking place in Berlin.
LovinMalta reports that the brother of the Opposition leader is contesting the local council elections in St Paul’s Bay in May. Anthony Delia has submitted his candidacy to the Nationalist Party and is pushing a campaign slogan: I need you to make the change.
A patient at the General Hospital in Gozo died while he was waiting to be treated. Sources told Newsbook that he was left too long before taking a turn for the worse. Steward Healthcare said they will not comment until after investigations are concluded.
Health Minister Chris Fearne said that the government is providing €8 million-worth of medicine for free to cancer patients. One News reports that a new medicine for lung cancer has been introduced, with a value of €60,000 per patient.
Meanwhile, the Nationalist Party has presented proposals for a national strategy against cancer. TVM covers a press event in which Health Spokesperson Dr Stephen Spiteri highlighted the need for psychological support services for patients and families.
An Air Malta flight made an emergency landing in Geneva after a medical emergency was reported onboard the aircraft. Net News says that no details have emerged so far from flight KM101, Heathrow to Malta.
Lawyer Arthur Azzopardi told Magistrate Aaron Bugeja that his clients are unfit to plead because of dementia. MaltaToday calls this ‘another snag’ in the money-laundering case involving the daughters of former EU Commissioner John Dalli. Foreign nationals Charles Ray Jackson and Elizabeth Jean Jackson previously said they could not travel to Malta due to logistical difficulties.
A fight between two students escalated into a brawl involving parents outside the Pembroke secondary school. The Malta Independent reports that two teachers caught up in the altercation were hurt, prompting condemnation by the Teachers’ Union and the Education Ministry.
The Transport Minister announced a €10 million allocation to upgrade the four tunnels at Kirkop, Sta Venera, Tal-Qroqq and Ta’ Giorni. The Timesquotes Minister Ian Borg who said the tunnels will now include better lighting, CCTV, and air quality monitoring sensors.
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